Page 18 of Knot Forever

My head starts to buzz as we get closer to the house. When the car stops, I’m quick to slide out, but Asher stops me as I turn towards the house.

“Marcus.” He pauses me with his hand on my arm, but he pulls it back immediately. “What do you need?”

I shake my head. “Space.”

He nods, and I make my way inside, heading straight to my office.

Chapter ten – Nova

I blink as Marcus escapes from the car like his ass is on fire.

He doesn’t look back, digging his hand into his pocket as he moves purposefully towards the gigantic mansion we’ve pulled into, his long legs eating up the steps until he disappears from sight.

There’s a small twist of disappointment in my chest as I pull the jacket around me, breathing in the clean scent.

“Come on, sweetheart.” Seth helps me up, and I climb out of the car awkwardly. My things will arrive tomorrow, in line with the arrangements with the auction. That is, if my mother sends them. My stomach flips. In the chaos, I didn’t get to see her, but I doubt she’s happy with me right now.

The evening – hell, the last few days – catch up to me as I blink up at their house.

This isn’t a house. It’s a freaking mansion made of pale gray stonework, dark wooden frames highlighting the large windows. Lights are on inside, and Seth’s face is shadowed as he turns to me. “Ready?”

I’m not, but I take a deep breath and nod anyway. Asher lingers behind us as Seth leads me inside, his gaze prickling the skin at the back of my neck until I reach my fingers up to double check there’s nothing there. When I glance over my shoulder, Asher’s eyes jump to mine. There’s something in them that makes my mouth dry, but my jumpiness slides away as we walk inside.

“Wow.” I take a few steps forward, my head craning up as I take in the ceiling. A marble staircase winds up , breaking out on each level. I feel… really, really small as I take in the distance above my head.

“Are you pleased, omega?” Seth whispers the words into my ear, and I jump a mile, batting him away with a hiss as he grins at me. He’s clearly delighted at my reaction. “You’re very responsive.”

When he waggles his eyebrows at me, I bite back the laugh threatening at the back of my throat. “Try waking me up when I’m asleep. I’m told I hit quite hard for an omega.”

The smile withers from my face at the reminder of exactly how I acquired that information, and Seth frowns. He takes a step closer to me, pushing my hair back from my face as I blink at him. “None of that here, sweetheart.”

My chest aches at the look in his eyes. “None of what?”

He leans in. “No bad memories allowed.”

Swallowing, I glance away. Just like that, he’s stripped away a part of me, yanked it into the light like it’s so easy to wipe away the past. “I wish it was that easy.”

His smile is surprisingly understanding. “I know. What do you need? Your room? Some food? Coffee?”

My fingers clench. “Coffee.”

“Coffee it is then.” Seth guides me down the hallway, the heat of his hand branding my back even through Marcus’s jacket. It’s warm in here, warm enough that I could take it off, but the scent feels… comforting. So I keep it on as Marcus shows me into a black marbled kitchen with a huge island, silver metal stools dotted around it. “Take a seat, Nova Chevnik.”

I stir as he points towards a stool. “I can… shouldn’t I be doing that?”

It’s what’s expected. The omega waits on the alphas, not the other way around.

That’s how it was with the Williams pack.

He snorts, moving around me and fiddling with a fancy machine. “Been here before, have you?”

My cheeks color, and he grins at me. “Relax, Nova. It’s just coffee, and you’ve had a hell of a night.”

Taking him at his word, I shuffle across the room and hoist myself into a stool. My feet dangle off the floor as I watch him move around the room. I feel Asher enter before I see him, his resinous scent mixing perfectly with the coffee bubbling away in the machine. He passes behind me, and I shiver again as he takes the stool next to me.

We sit silently, and I dart a glance over to him. He’s frowning as he watches Seth, but it feels absent. Like his thoughts aren’t in the room with us at all.

“Where’s Marcus?” I ask quietly. It seems like a safe enough question, but Seth tenses, his shoulders tightening before he flashes me a smile.

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